The present invention is generally directed to devices for protecting limb joints, and more particularly to a padded elbow brace.
In the health care field, particularly in the hospitals and the like, patients who are bed-ridden or otherwise confined, develope sores by contact, as in rubbing with various other objects during the treatment or in the confinement phase of the treatment. Most often, these sores occur on the limb joints, such as the elbows, knees, and the heels. These sores most often develop from rubbing or abrasive action with various surrounding objects, such as bedframes, handrests on a wheelchair, or the hard table top surface of a radiographic machine. Therefore, it often becomes difficult to render treatment or to conduct various routine examinations on a patient. This is particularly true in the situation where, for example, a patient had sustained an injury in or in the area of a limb joint, and it becomes necessary to conduct an x-ray examination. Various methods and devices have been developed for safeguarding patients against such sores or preventing from further exaggeration of an existing injury, but none of them has been found to be entirely satisfactory. Examples of various conventional devices and methods are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,113,020; 2,626,394; 3,322,118; 3,504,379; 3,945,046; 4,150,442; 4,292,263; 4,315,504; and Re 32,680.